From the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Honor and The Last Gangster—“one of the most respected crime reporters in the country” (60 Minutes)—comes the sure to be headline-making inside story of the Gotti and Gambino families, told from the unique viewpoint of notorious mob hit-man John Alite, a close associate of Junior Gotti who later testified against him.

In Gotti’s Rules, George Anastasia, a prize-winning reporter who spent over thirty years covering crime, offers a shocking and very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, witnessed up-close from former family insider John Alite, John Gotti Jr.’s longtime friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis—including the legendary “Gotti Rules” of leadership—that Anastasia exposes here. Drawing on extensive FBI files and other documentation, his own knowledge, and exclusive interviews with insiders and experts, including mob-enforcer-turned-government-witness Alite, Anastasia pokes holes in the Gotti legend, demystifying this notorious family and its lucrative and often deadly machinations.

Anastasia offers never-before-heard information about the murders, drug dealing, and extortion that propelled John J. Gotti to the top of the Gambino crime family and the treachery and deceit that allowed John A. “Junior” Gotti to follow in his father’s footsteps. Told from street level and through the eyes of a wiseguy who saw it all firsthand, the result is a riveting look at a family whose hubris, violence, passion, and greed fueled a bloody rise and devastating fall that is still reverberating through the American underworld today.

Furthermore, Gotti Jr. had to have had a ghostwriter or an editor with a strong hand. More than likely, whatever script had been floating around for the film was simply recast in book format. Laypeople who have never published before are rarely capable of writing a publishable book otherwise....The book is self-published, so I can't really say that about ghostwriters and editors. I do wonder how Junior came up with the ebook idea.

From Peter Lance: January 11th, 2015. John Marzulli, who covers organized crime for the N.Y. Daily News yesterday broke a story on the new memoir by John A. “Junior” Gotti to be released this week.

As Marzulli reports, the book had been under wraps for months. It will be published worldwide two weeks before “Gotti’s Rules,” a book by Philadelphia mob reporter George Anastasia based almost entirely on the word of disgraced federal witness John Alite.

Alite, aka “Johnny Corvette,” was a one-time low-level Gambino associate whom the FBI attempted to bill as a kind of latter day “Sammy the Bull’ Gravano during Gotti’s Jr.’s 4th and last prosecution in 2009.

But, as The Associated Press reported, the jury was unanimous in their disbelief of the Albanian-American “associate” who passed himself off as a real wiseguy by calling himself John Aletto.

Last summer while finishing the book, which he penned himself without the help of a ghost writer, John Jr. reached out to me and asked me to write the Foreward to “Shadow of My Father.”Before I agreed, I spent months analyzing thousands of pages of FBI 302 memos and transcripts from the four trials between 2005-2009 in which the DOJ attempted to convict the son of the legendary “King of The Volcano.”

John Alite in pretty good shape for a
"junkie," as Jr called him.

After digesting the research I was astonished at the lengths to which the Feds went to put “Junior” away forever after he withdrew from the Gambino crime family; going, in his words, “on the shelf for life;” refusing to fly the borgata’s flag and renouncing his life in the secret society J. Edgar Hoover mistakenly dubbed (LCN) La Cosa Nostra. At one point between trials Two and Three the FBI even leaked false information suggesting that the younger Gotti had agreed to testify, an act which prosecutors later acknowledged put his life in danger.

My 23 page Foreword serves not only as an introduction to this astonishing biography, but an endorsement of John Jr.’s word against that of self admitted murderer, drug dealer and home invader Alite, who seemed to relish at trial telling the jury how he had tortured a New Jersey electrician he found on his property.

“Shadow of My Father” will be available everywhere this week via amazon.com’s Kindle Direct Publishing and other outlets as both an ebook and a trade paperback.

Comments

So John Jr words will be read and quoted before anybody reads John Alite word.s about the dysfuctional Gambino and Gotti bosses private side and Son.s inabilities to run the family afterhis fathers demise kinda ironic i guess should be quite amusing.Philly

The Gotti family has found every way they could to squeeze out every penny from their fathers name...Will this kid mention how much heroin his father and associates put on the street that killed countless kids and left years of heartbreak for their mothers ?? Will he talk about how his father publicly humiliated his mother by dating other women etc...??

I'm guessing here, BUT junior has to try and squeeze every nickel he can, legitimately, as i would hazard that he is watched very carefully. And it would have been really fun if they had let him write with his own (illiterate) voice. How much you wanna bet he'd use "deese and dose"? I, for one, am all for preserving the goombah dialect.

If these people weren.t doing herion they be taking something else it.s what they do because they can.t deal with real life issues so they make excuses they can.t cope do drugs and die and its always somebody.s elses fault no body forces this shit on anybody life is choices and these people chose theres get over it already. And dont use the excuse about young kids either parrnts need to psay attention to there kids and be involved in there life abd the decisions they make . Supervision my friends and and lots of love. Philly

I thought a major publishing house was releasing the book, I had no idea he was going the self publishing route. Most people who aren't professional writers or who haven't spent time practicing the craft can't just sit down and write a publishable first draft. I say this as someone who has been writing since he was 14. I'm looking forward to reading both these books.

Why do you say that? Just curious about the public's perception... I think people in the know (in the case, mobsters) have an understanding that Alite was screwed. The public doesn't really know anything about the Gottis or the American Mafia. Junior broke every rule in the book and got away with shit you wouldn't believe.

What kind of human being are you ?? That has to be the stupidest answer anybody could of thought up unless you deal junk yourself and are trying to rationalize doing it..It might have been acceptable if you would have added something negative against the junk pushers as well, but you didn't...Get over it already ??? That comment says a lot about you and your upbringing as well my friend !!

I'd agree with the second part -- but not the first part. I had an hours long chat with a guy one night this week, he's so high up, so close to the power, I can never name him and no one would believe me if I did. He permanently changed my entire perspective of the American Mafia. What I can tell you is this: "Quack Quack" has nothing to do with the fact that the guy talked a lot.... And Senior Gotti got his "break" when the guy who ran that neighborhood, named "Fat Andy," was arrested....beyond that is too complicated. I'll just add: some guys (emphasis on "some") who flipped still have more heart that some guys ("emphasis again on "some") on the street today. Most of what we think we know is bullshit.....

Truth hurts again get over it! The only reason drugs come in this country cause our Gov lets it. Try leaving this countru without a passport and try to get back in. Drugs is what the Gov and Cia use to fund there missions to over throw other Govs and Vombat terrorism. They can.t do that with the budget each yr Congress gives them. If u have a problem with that call ur local congress man. Drugs will be here long after u and me are gone its a money maker not saying its right its just the way it is. PHILLY

Jr. not liked, how about more like "hated" now that is the right word. Other Gambino guys wanted to whack Jr. on two different occasions. Hated for multiple reasons. Jr. really is better to be out of "the life"

DOMINICK CICALE, A FORMER CAPO IN THE BONANNO CRIME FAMILY, ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
In 1999, Bronx-based Dominick Cicale finished his second years-long bit and hooked up with Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano, then an up-and-coming member of the Bronx faction of the Bonanno crime family.

Initially he'd been closely affiliated with "Big Ernie" in the Genovese family.

Roy DeMeo was a ruthless killer -- not a nice guy, not a guy worthy of admiration in any way -- but in the context of Cosa Nostra he is an endlessly fascinating portrait of a mobster who had a great business sense.

Paulie Castellano didn't want to make Roy, but eventually was too greedy not to--Roy was bringing in too much cash to not notice, combined with a blood lust that enabled him to commit torture murders not common even for mobsters.
Roy had a crew of young wannabes, many of whom would eventually get their buttons, such as Gemini Twins Anthony Senter and Joey Testa, who hooked up with the Lucchese's after leaving Roy.

As reported, an FBI bug installed in the home of Gambino family soldier Angelo Ruggiero picked up an intriguing conversation between Angelo and Gene Gotti, a brother of John Gotti.

In the conversation, it is revealed Paul Castellano had put out a hit on DeMeo, but was having difficulty finding someone willing to do the job. Gene Gotti said his brother Joh…

He was considered a dangerous man. A truck hijacker and gun-runner, he was tied to two crime families (the Bonannos and Lucheses) and operated a swag-filled warehouse.

He was known for his nice gold watches and good suits. He also preferred driving around in a Mercedes.

In reality, his name was not Vincent Spinelli, and he was far from being a criminal; in fact, he was an NYPD officer working undercover. The operation lasted three years and led to 42 arrests (21 were reputed Bonanno mobsters, the rest presumably were Luchese members, plus assorted associates -- plus there was at least one grandmother who lived in a social club in The Bronx).

Peter "Peter Pasta" Pellegrino, formerly of the Babylon, New York, restaurant known as Peter’s Italian Restaurant, really is -- or was -- a gangster.

The once-promising Bonanno member who appeared after the Kitchen Nightmares episode aired, now calls himself a brokester. And the Bonanno crime family, with which he was once affiliated has disowned him.

So has the rest of New York's Cosa Nostra, according to FBI documents and Peter Pasta himself.

But before all that he appeared on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares in which he acted very much like the mobster he allegedly was trying to become around the time of filming. (See Peter's Italian Restaurant menu here.)

Back then Peter Pasta was an up-and-coming Bonanno associate who "earned" $15 grand a week bookmaking.

Anthony Colombo died on January 6 in San Diego of complications from diabetes.Anthony was Joseph Colombo's son.When Joseph Colombo learned a boss was planning to take out other New York bosses in order to take control of the Mafia's Commission, Colombo showed fealty to Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese, two of the key targets of the plotting. As a reward for his loyalty, Colombo was then named boss of one of New York's Five Families -- the Profaci family, which was rechristened the Colombo family.I've been working on a story about Anthony but meanwhile I thought it appropriate to republish a previous story we did with Anthony, a Q&A about a book he'd recently written about his father's shooting at the second Italian-American unity day.We want to thank Anthony Jr. for assisting Cosa Nostra News in getting the interview; we offer him and the Colombo family our solemn condolences.Anthony Colombo recently took the time to answer some questions for the following …

Year's Most Popular

Peter "Peter Pasta" Pellegrino, formerly of the Babylon, New York, restaurant known as Peter’s Italian Restaurant, really is -- or was -- a gangster.

The once-promising Bonanno member who appeared after the Kitchen Nightmares episode aired, now calls himself a brokester. And the Bonanno crime family, with which he was once affiliated has disowned him.

So has the rest of New York's Cosa Nostra, according to FBI documents and Peter Pasta himself.

But before all that he appeared on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares in which he acted very much like the mobster he allegedly was trying to become around the time of filming. (See Peter's Italian Restaurant menu here.)

Back then Peter Pasta was an up-and-coming Bonanno associate who "earned" $15 grand a week bookmaking.

NOTE: We will update this -- again, we post it as it includes some questionable assertions. Let us know what you find correct or not, in the comments....We also hear that a friend of ours is sick -- we want to wish him well.... Get better, guy!
Many high-profile organized crime figures reportedly hail from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

Many Bensonhurst wiseguys are gone today, dead, in prison or Witness Protection -- or in New Jersey.... Unless of course, they are in another part of Brooklyn or another borough or Long Island, or somewhere else (to cover all bases).

It's one of gangland's most high-profile, enigmatic hits -- and the identity of the killer has been debated for decades.

Thomas "Tommy Two-Guns" DeSimone killed a made member of the Mafia -- and for that, among other things, he was killed in what's been described as a classic setup. The truth is, we know very little about this murder, including who pulled the trigger. (Or fired up the chainsaw depending on who you believe). DeSimone, technically, disappeared, meaning there's zero evidence as to how he was killed; in fact, it can't be said with absolute certainty that he was killed.

Still, he was killed. Guys like him don't just disappear into thin air. They'd never leave New York because everything they want -- a certain lifestyle, basically -- is in New York and cannot be duplicated anywhere else.